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Insurance carriers have many options when it comes to the billing and collection of premiums. Prepayment
of the annual premium is very common as is the offering of installment billing. Installment
billing, however, takes a significant investment of time and capital and is seldom the core competency of an insurance
carrier. Carriers are risk bearing entities whose efforts are more profitably expended in the pursuit of best pricing
practices and managing the returns on invested premium dollars. The billing component is often a necessary evil in order
to move the product. Although the billing and collection of premium is typically not an insurance carrier's primary
business, Input 1 recognizes that the billing process does result in significant customer contact. This is one reason
why insurance carriers choose to internalize the billing and collection process rather than outsource it.
Acknowledging both the cost savings and customer contact points as critical strategic initiatives for a carrier,
Input 1 has designed expert billing systems that can be customized to fit the needs of a
carrier's billing plan coupled with a well-defined and hands-on operational model that will yield the highest levels
of customer service.
Input 1 offers two ways to implement an outsourced billing program – an
Installment Billing solution and a Premium Financing solution.
Under an installment billing option, Input 1 issues periodic invoices (monthly, quarterly, etc…) to
policyholders for premiums due and handles all subsequent activities including receipt, reconciliation and deposit of
premiums, generation of cancellation notices, customer service functions, website maintenance, etc….
Input 1 handles this type of operation as third party administrator and therefore all
documentation, telephone communication, websites and any other client-facing materials are branded with the name of the
carrier and not of Input 1.
An outsourced installment billing service involves detailed planning to create a specification describing how Input
1's servicing center should conduct the affairs of the carrier, care for its policyholders and agents and interface
with management at the carrier level.
Under a carrier premium financing program, Input 1 provides all services incident to the management of a premium
finance receivable. Click here for a schedule of these services.
As with installment billing, the servicing is performed in the name of the carrier so that all client-facing printed
materials, websites and telephone communications bear the name of the carrier. Input 1 is administrating the portfolio
at the carrier's direction.
An insurance carrier has the unique option of providing a subsidized financing program. In a subsidized financing
arrangement, the carrier pays a spread to cover part of the servicing expense and the balance is paid via by the
policyholder in the form of a finance charge on a premium finance agreement. The program can be private labeled to
reflect the carrier's name or it can bear the name of the finance company (see note below).
Due to the subsidy provided by the carrier, the finance charge to the policyholder is competitive in the marketplace
and can branded as "low cost financing".
note: Branding, revenue sharing, incentives, and fees are not allowed and will not be offered
in the state of Texas or in other states where prohibited by law.
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